Dedifferentiation of Lineage-Committed Cells by a Small Molecule

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126 (2), 410 -411, 2004. 10.1021/ja037390k S0002-7863(03)07390-6
Web Release Date: December 19, 2003

Dedifferentiation of Lineage-Committed Cells by a Small Molecule

Shuibing Chen, Qisheng Zhang, Xu Wu, Peter G. Schultz,* and Sheng Ding*

Department of Chemistry and the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037

sding@scripps.edu; schultz@scripps.edu

Received July 18, 2003

Abstract:

Combinatorial libraries were screened for molecules that induce mouse myogenic lineage committed cells to dedifferentiate in vitro. A 2,6-disubstituted purine, reversine, was discovered that induces lineage reversal of C2C12 cells to become multipotent progenitor cells which can redifferentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes. This and other such molecules are likely to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that control cellular dedifferentiation and may ultimately be useful to in vivo stem cell biology and therapy.

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